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BELIZE CITY (Reuters) - Belizeans headed to the polls on Wednesday to replace a veteran prime minister, with many in the tiny Central American country saying they were ready for change to repair an economy battered by pandemic-driven shutdowns.
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Dean Barrow, the outgoing prime minister, ran Belize for more than a dozen years. His conservative United Democratic Party (UDP) is now in the hands of Patrick Faber, who is battling its traditional center-left adversary, the People’s United Party (PUP), to secure a fourth consecutive UDP term in office.
Faber faces a tough contest against PUP leader Johnny Briceno, a former deputy prime minister, with discontent widespread over an economy that was in the doldrums long before the coronavirus decimated tourism, the main driver of prosperity.